Know what we did? Well, what we did after a bunch of work and some cleaning that left me so exhausted that I complained all through dinner? (Shocking.) But… we watched Walk the Line. OMG. One of my all-time favorite movies… EVER. And of course, one of my husband’s all time favorite movies ever too because he is a cahhhrazy Johnny Cash fan.

Want to know something funny? Well, I find it funny… my husband finds it pathetic… you will just find it annoying… but when the movie first came out, and I was intensely obsessed with it, I bought the soundtrack and only listened to THAT… like not the real songs. Like not the real songs sung by the real artists who were immensely famous for their craft. I decided that I liked the way Joaquin and Reese sang better than Johnny and June. Because I barely knew anything about the REAL people, because I 1.lived (live?) in a bubble, 2. was young and outrageously naive and 3. lacked (lack?) any admirable taste in music.

This almost ended our engagement. Seriously.

And for the record, most people (with the exception of like, 17-year old girls and 65-year old women) still know I for sure lack any kind of taste in music… especially like when my cousin told me earlier this week that she was going to see My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses in concert and I just looked at her like she had 20 heads. Um whaaaaat? I don’t know any bands about sweaters and ponies.

Okay. Now that I just discussed my sad and boring life for a few paragraphs, let’s get to the good stuff.

This comes on the heels of one of our favorite dishes – buffalo chicken baked pasta – but it lacks the whole “baking” thing because I was… insanely lazy. And hungry. I can’t not tell the truth. Especially to you, my favorite invisible internet friend. And I couldn’t imagine turning on the oven and WAITING for it to bake. I mean who has the patience for THAT?

Not I.

And you know… I wish I could say that we ate this as a full meal… but no. I had to make turkey burgers too because this *wasn’t enough* protein for dinner. At least according to that guy I live with. But the good news is that I – me, myself and I – ate it as a meal. With a few chunks of chocolate afterwards. Oh and peanut butter. Just how I roll. Or, err… survive.

Directions:

Toss chicken with 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce and set aside.

Heat a large soup-type pot over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and butter, then toss in sliced onions with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until caramelized. While onions are cooking, prepare water for pasta and bring to a boil. I only cooked my pasta for about 5 minutes because it will go directly into the hot cheese sauce. I tried to time it so my pasta was done only a few minutes before adding it to the sauce, but if it's done much earlier, just set it aside in a colander.

Increase heat to medium under the onions and add flour, whisking constantly to create a roux. Cook for 5 minutes, until golden and fragrant, stirring often. Add in milk, whisking constantly, and stir for another 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low and add in grated cheeses and mustard. Continue to stir until sauce is creamy and cheese has melted. Add in shells and stir to coat, then toss in chicken. Drizzle the rest of the BBQ sauce on top.

Serve immediately with green onions, bacon, parsley and cilantro on top - and more sauce if desired!

Note: this reheats well - just add a splash of milk and stir, stir, stir.

This looks like a great (and guy-friendly) version of mac n cheese. Yum.

I also have pathetic music taste and knowledge. I played Quizzo last night with some friends and there was a music category, where they played clips from songs. Guess how many I knew? 2. Out of 10. So sad.

Hi! I came across your blog and I love love love it! The recipes are amazing and the photos are so gorgeous as well! ;-) I actually featured your blog and recipes in my Wednesday Colour Splash post today! :-) xoxo

My boyfriend and I totally watched Walk the Line too!! It’s one of my faves, and I was super excited to see it on tv as I was flipping through the channels! :) This recipe sounds absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to try it!!

Oh, and also, if you like June Carter & Johnny Cash, and you haven’t checked out this song yet, you totally should! It reminds me a lot of them. I hope this version plays ok, I’m at a computer without speakers hooked up to it at the moment so I can’t check. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmtmgxk2J1g

What a crazy good and easy meal! I love that it is just made on the stove top because when you have hungry kids wanting to eat right away, there is no time to wait for baking!!! And barbeque sauce makes everything better:-)

I just might have to make this for us tonight. YUM! I totally am a Walk the Line fan. Now I want to see it. I also had never listened to Johnny Cash until I watched the movie but even then I only listened to the soundtrack. LOL. I liked their voices!

Saw this post yesterday morning, made this for dinner last night. It was fantastic! This and the Buffalo Chicken version are so tasty, reheat and freeze well, and are perfect for a weeknight or weekend. Comforting, cheesy and absolutely delicious! We are cooking/food soulmates!

I made this for my man’s birthday yesterday. He LOVED it, and I knew he would. It’s got all his favorite flavors, and it was very complex. He said it tasted like restaurant food. It was a bit of work and very rich – perfect for a special birthday meal!

This looks delicious. And I did the same thing with the soundtrack from Walk the Line. I know prefer Johnny and June but for a while I was all about Joaquin and Reese. I bought that movie and love watching it – over and over. And singing along!

You’ve done an amazing thing. Not only do I dislike BBQ sauce, I also dislike BBQ chicken and cheese. BUT I keep going back to this post and thinking about how incredibly delicious those photos look. Obviously, I have to make this dish. Just another thing to add to my list of guilty pleasures. :)

I just made this for dinner tonight and while it was a bit of work (and mess, yikes my small kitchen) but oh. my. glob. it was so good and rich. I used whole wheat flour so it ended up looking a little odd and I added a little more mollensoce the roux seemed really thick for some reason. but it tastes fantastic and I have tons of leftovers :)

Yeah, this happened after you reminded me in another post of yours that this recipe was out here and…OMG! It was amazing! Love it! Thanks so much! And I did the usual link back a bazillion times…you know the drill. Yes, my pictures are still awful. :) Happy Holidays to you and Mr. How Sweet!

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About Jessica

I’m Jessica and this is where I share my stuff. You will find a balance of healthy recipes, comfort food and indulgent desserts.

I am madly, passionately, inexplicably in love with food. Bacon makes me beam. Chocolate makes me shout from the rooftops with joy. Vegetables and I are the best of frenemies. My perfect world would include none of them.
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